Orientalism and Religion

Orientalism and Religion offers us a timely discussion of the implications of contemporary post-colonial theory for the study of religion. Richard King examines the way in which notions such as mysticism, religion, Hinduism and Buddhism are taken for granted. He shows us how religion needs to be reinterpreted along the lines of cultural studies. Drawing on a variety of post-structuralist and post-colonial thinkers, such as Foucault, Gadamer, Said, and Spivak, King provides us with a challenging series of reflections on the nature of Religious Studies and Indology.

Introduction; Chapter 1 The power of definition; Chapter 2 Disciplining religion; Chapter 3 Sacred texts, hermenetics and world religions; Chapter 4 Orientalism and Indian religions; Chapter 5 The modern myth of 'Hinduism'; Chapter 6 'Mystic Hinduism'; Chapter 7 Orientalism and the discovery of 'Buddhism'; Chapter 8 The politics of privatization; Chapter 9 Beyond Orientalism? Notes Bibliography Index;